Earth Day 2012

Earth Day takes place on April 22nd and the occasion is over forty years old. Earth Day stems back to when people stared to realise and recognise the importance of our planet. Earth Day offers us the chance to recognise what we can do to play our part in facing up to the challenge of global warming. It also highlights what each individual can do to play a part in building a clean world and use its resources without damaging our surroundings.

Here at Hostels.com we're all about cheap accommodation and travel - it's what we do best really. But we also want to play our part in saving the world so that's why we've taken to looking in to how we can be a greener traveller. When you work in this business you tend to get around the world a bit, so here are just a sample of our favourite tips on how to be a greener, more eco-friendly traveller. Mother Nature will thank you for it!

Start saving the planet before you leave the house

Sometimes before we take a trip we find ourselves running around the house in a frenzy and leaving things all over the place. Make a point of making sure you have properly turned off and plugged out everything that doesn't need to be on (however you might want to leave the fridge one in!). Leaving appliances on stand-by or mobile phone chargers still plugged in waste energy as well as running up your electricity bills. So plug out before you take off and you'll be doing the planet and your wallet a favour.

Reduce your carbon footprint when choosing your travel means

If you want to get somewhere that's further than walking distance then chances are you will have to take some form of gas guzzling means of transport. Now we are not suggesting that you don't leave your house at all, but you could take into consideration how you travel and how much energy it will use up. Trains and buses are a good choice as they are efficient in relation to their emissions to passenger's ratio. Also, if you are taking a long trip then try to get a non-stop flight as the more taking off and landing you do the more fuel the plane has to use.

Stay somewhere eco friendly

Accommodation is becoming more and more eco friendly and a quick internet search shows an increase in hostels, hotels and guesthouses branded themselves as eco-friendly.

Are you an avid eco-friendly traveller? Let us know if you have any tips to add to ours in a comment below. And even if you're not you can start by making some simple changes for Earth Day on April 22.